Friday, 30 December 2011

:: Leftover Love ::

Holiday Ham Pâté

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: leftover love from holiday ham dip ::

It just isn’t Christmas holidays without this
recipe: My mother’s festive Leftover Ham Pâté spread. As a small child, she always sold it to me as a simple "dip" instead of pâté... & I loved it!Every Christmas throughout the years my mother would purchase a
traditional Kentucky Ham & glaze it with all the love of her homeland,
Southern USA. There is one thing that matches the beautiful succulent salty
sweetness of her ham, & that is the lovely creaminess of her leftover dip.

The first time I made it for Mick he was beside
himself & ate the whole bowl in one sitting! This was followed the next
night with requests for more, I couldn’t believe it! A simple dish that I grew
up with & made from leftovers was creating such joy on the tastebuds for my
future husband. Now, even though it is just the 3 of us in our small family, we
still get a full 8kg leg ham as we know it will get eaten in many ways, &
ham dip is a must.

I have to admit, I have tweaked it just a little since my first frantic
phone call to my mother for the recipe (sorry mum) but for me this easy dish is
full of memories & happiness.

Ham Dip

250g
sliced leg ham

1/3
cup light sour cream

1/3
cup whole egg mayonnaise

1/3
cup finely grated parmesan

1½ Tbs chives, roughly chopped1 Tbs seeded mustard (optional)

A
pinch of sea salt & cracked black pepper

Garnish

finely
chopped chives

pink
peppercorns

:: ingredients in KitchenAid ::

:: beautifully blended ::

Place
ham, sour cream, mayonnaise, parmesan & chives into a food processor (I use my ever trusty KitchenAid)
& blend for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy & smooth.
Then fold through seeded mustard (optional). Place into a serving dish & garnish.

:: garnish with pink peppercorns & chives for a festive touch ::

Serve

::
I like to simply serve my Holiday Ham Dip with either water crackers or a crisp
bread.

::
I have also made it with the ham dip served in small pastry cups, with a
sprinkling of chives & peppercorns on each individual one. They are perfect
for a New Year’s Eve canapé.

:: share with friends with a platter to take to their house ::

Kitchen Notes

::
This is a dish that I also love to share with my friends, as it is something
that many haven’t had. Simply create a platter, tie a festive ribbon around it
& voila... present.

:: My
beloved KitchenAid Food Processor didn’t always exist in my kitchen. Prior to
this I made Holiday Ham Dip in a blender! It took some shaking, stirring &
a little water added to help the mixture to move, but it did the job.

:: IN THE KITCHEN ::

:: MORE ABOUT THE BAKER & MAKER ::

"I believe food is about creating memories. There is not one dish that does not have a fond memory attached to it in one way or another, so please, enjoy my memories of cooking & creating in Megann's Kitchen..."